The Court of Justice of the EU has interpreted for the first time the Blocking Regulation. The ruling confirms that it is possible to terminate contracts with a US designated person without providing reasons. However, in...more
On 27 February 2020, the Office of Foreign Assets Controls (OFAC) issued General License (GL) 8 authorizing certain humanitarian trade transactions involving the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) that are otherwise prohibited under...more
3/6/2020
/ Banks ,
Commodities ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Food Supply ,
Foreign Relations ,
General Licenses ,
Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations (GTSR) ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Medical Devices ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SDN List ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Switzerland ,
Trade Agreements
On 10 January 2020, in response to missile attacks by the Iranian military targeting two U.S. bases in Iraq, the United States Department of the Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a number of senior...more
1/14/2020
/ Blocked Person ,
Construction Project ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Goods or Services ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Mining ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
SDN List ,
Textiles ,
Trump Administration
On 25 October the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and State announced the establishment of a new channel for conducting due diligence on humanitarian trade with Iran.
Foreign governments and foreign financial institutions...more
11/8/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Due Diligence ,
FinCEN ,
Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) ,
Foreign Relations ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Money Laundering ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Trump Administration
OFAC has announced a Finding of Violation –and not a penalty–against State Street Bank and Trust Co. (SSBT) for processing 45 pension payments totaling under $12,000 on behalf of a pension plan participant who was a US...more
On 5 November 2018 the United States re-imposed the remaining nuclear-related secondary sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) against Iran that previously had...more
11/8/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Oil & Gas ,
SDN List ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Trump Administration
The United States has begun re-imposing nuclear-related sanctions with respect to Iran in connection with the expiration of the 90-day wind-down period announced alongside the United States' 8 May 2018 withdrawal from the...more
8/13/2018
/ Economic Sanctions ,
Energy Sector ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
Foreign Relations ,
Insurance Industry ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
ITSR ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
SDN List ,
Shipping
In furtherance of President Trump’s 8 May 2018 announcement that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—on 27 June 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s...more
Declaring that it is “defective at its core,” on 8 May 2018, President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and begin re-imposing sanctions that were lifted pursuant to U.S....more
Press reports indicate that President Trump intends to “de-certify” the Iran nuclear deal this week. In practical terms, that means he would refuse to re-certify one or more statutory elements of a law passed by the U.S....more
Last week, the U.S. Senate acted to pass both new Iran and Russia sanctions by large bipartisan margins. The House of Representatives has not yet acted on either piece of legislation. We anticipate that Congress will...more
6/21/2017
/ Cybersecurity ,
Human Rights ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
Mining ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Pending Legislation ,
Railways ,
Russia ,
Shipping ,
Terrorist Threats
While much attention has been focused on the Trump Administration's recent actions targeting imports of metals, lumber, and other commodities, the Administration has also steadily ramped up its activities in the trade...more
5/1/2017
/ Chemical Weapons ,
Executive Orders ,
Exports ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Russia ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On Friday, February 3, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it was designating 25 entities and individuals as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) for their involvement in...more
2/14/2017
/ Foreign Policy ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ,
National Security ,
Nuclear Weapons ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
SDN List ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
WMD
On December 23, 2016, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published a number of changes to the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR,” 31 C.F.R. Part 560) that expanded the...more
1/20/2017
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Commodities ,
Export Controls ,
Exports ,
General Licenses ,
Healthcare ,
Imports ,
Iran ,
Iran Sanctions ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Obama Administration ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Software